ABSTRACT

In this chapter, the author illustrates Monrovia 2010–2013 as an expatriate concert promoter participating in the local music industries, and the subsequent research in 2014 as a consultant to the World Bank at a time when the sector was considered for inclusion in the country’s Private Sector Development Strategy. Arts and cultural sectors were not addressed in Liberia’s Poverty Reduction Strategy, which was the main document that framed development projects during his time. Economic plans and humanitarian aid agendas both appeared silent in Liberia when it came to supporting creative and cultural industries (CCIs). While CCIs seemed to enjoy significant global attention as drivers of economic growth and human development in the pages of institutional reports and national policies, this optimistic Creative Economy discourse had not reached the Republic of Liberia during the years 2010–2013. Copyright reform, education, followed by improving production and service standards through training and infrastructure, access to finance, and support for international promotion and the export of Liberian music.